5 Questions About Game 4

Former Celtic Larry Bird always used to say that Game 4 is the most important game in a seven-game series. And that would certainly be the case Thursday night in Orlando.

Either the Lakers take control of this series or we've got a whole new ballgame.

Here are five questions heading in to Thursday's game in Orlando:

1. Is there anything to this Kobe Bryant wearing down thing?
Kobe Bryant has been logging a lot of minutes in the postseason and there were definite signs of fatigue at the end of Game 3. Predictably, Bryant downplayed any tiredness themes, which you would figure.

But fatigue can make a mortal out of any superstar, and if there is even a hint that Bryant is feeling a little worse for the wear these days, expect Orlando to try to exploit it. Of course, if this is all much ado about nothing we'll find that out later tonight, after Bryant throws up a 40-spot on the Magic.

2. Will we see Rafer or Skip-to-my-Lou tonight?
Rafer Alston said some of his teammates have been wanting more of the "Skip-to-my-Lou" Alston instead of simply Rafer Alston. As a result, the Lakers saw a much more aggressive Alston, and quite frankly, one that Derek Fisher had difficulty keeping in front of him.

There is no doubt the Magic are a much better team when Alston is out there doing his thing ... like he was doing on Tuesday. Whether or not he's got three or four more games in him like that remains to be seen.

3. Will the Lakers use Game 4 to get Pau Gasol more touches?
There has been nobody in this series -- including Bryant -- who has been more efficient than Pau Gasol. He's 23-for-37 from the field and 17-for-19 from the free-throw line.

That's 63 total points for the series on just 37 field goal attempts. That's an impressive ratio. So good, in fact, that the Lakers should try to get Gasol more than the dozen or so shots he's averaged per game so far.

The Magic have yet to find an answer for Gasol so you've got to wonder how much longer Lakers coach Phil Jackson will stay away from him.

4. Can the Magic continue to move the ball on offense?
There were some very encouraging passing numbers that came out of Game 3. Hedo Turkoglu's seven assists and Rashard Lewis' five assists stand out. If those two players continue to make plays for Orlando, it makes it much more difficult for the Lakers at the defensive end.

The Magic are at their best when they work inside out -- starting with Dwight Howard -- and then swing the ball until it finds an open man. When that happens, you see plenty of players registering assists.

When they rely more on their point guard to initiate and make plays, the Magic aren't nearly as good at the offensive end, particularly in the halfcourt.

5. Can the Lakers get anything out of Andrew Bynum?
Can the Lakers defeat the Magic without Andrew Bynum being effective? Yes. That's what they basically did in Game 2.

But things are just so much easier if Bynum is some kind of factor. Heck, any kind of factor. In Game 1, Bynum finished with nine points and nine rebounds and that pretty ordinary effort was a big factor in the blowout win.

Bynum's got two simple jobs to do, and if he can do them, it bodes well for the Lakers. Those jobs are: Make Howard do a little work at the defensive end, and use your fouls to keep him from easy buckets at the other end.